College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Iowa State University

Working memory

Researcher Rob West doesn't forget importance of memory studies.
Looking up the term "memory fitness" on an Internet search engine, Rob West was somewhat surprised by the high number of entries returned.

"People are critically interested in it," said the associate professor of psychology and director of Iowa State's Cognitive Psychology Program.

West's research interests include memory, in particular "working memory" (sometimes called short-term memory) and "prospective memory."

Remembering the name of a person you just met, the phone number you just looked up or driving directions while maneuvering in heavy traffic are examples of working memory. Prospective memory is needed for many aspects of daily life: returning a phone call in the evening, taking prescriptions at the right times or delivering a message to a colleague while at work.

Memory fitness has caught the fancy of many. People want better memories to be more productive workers, earn better grades and stay mentally fit as they age, for instance, to keep their driving privileges.

"How do people get to appointments on time, remember to take their medicine and pick up milk on the way home from work?" West asked rhetorically. He studies people who accomplish these seemingly simple tasks and how aging affects the process.

In the 1960s and ‘70s, the field of cognitive psychology emerged - researchers wanted to know what goes on in our brains that allows us to learn. What resulted was an increasing interest in memory studies.

"Memory is a broad area and the subject of a lot of research," West said. In addition to cognitive psychology disciplines such as neurology and pharmacology are examining memory. The work could lead to effective drugs to enhance cognition and possibly slow the effects of Alzheimer's disease.

Research also is focusing on the genetic level and how specific genes impair or improve memory.

"It's a real emerging area, and in 10 years - or less - there is potential to see strong linkages of specific aspects of memory with genetics," West explained.

However, he said, we won't have to worry anytime soon whether we will be identified as having a good memory gene or a bad one.

West studied psychology as an undergraduate at Western Kentucky University and became interested in aging in a number of different cognitive areas. Later in his Ph.D. program at the University of South Carolina, he began researching prospective memory, which he said was an under-studied area.

"We didn't know much about prospective memory and its importance in our daily lives," he explained. "It drew me into this undiscovered frontier."

Memory can be improved, West noted, but there is no instant formula. Some recommendations for memory improvement are supported by "good solid science" from large-scale clinical trials where cognitive interventions have gone under some scrutiny. He said there are some relatively short programs (five to 10 days) in which participants transfer learned memory skills to the real world by changing the way they process information.

The key is being able to use the skills without intentionally trying to apply them. Memory strategies exist, such as creating a sentence from 10 words one needs to remember for a test.

"We know from research that strategies work," West said, "but typically we find when the people get out in the world, they don't transfer the strategies.

"People abandon strategies because they're too intrusive and people forget them. It takes work to use them."

West says improving memory is similar to improving one's fitness - it can't be done all at once and must be sustained over time to be effective.

What about West's own memory? "It's not very good," he admits, adding with a smile, "You usually study what you can't do."